


arbores et sanitas

by lolwhat (JkWriter)



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Botankinesis, Healing, Image Projection, M/M, Technopathy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-12
Updated: 2018-09-08
Packaged: 2019-03-17 02:47:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13649847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JkWriter/pseuds/lolwhat
Summary: “Isn’t this exciting? We’re finally here!”“Yeah, it’s great.”Jared turned to Evan. “You can at least pretend to be excited.”





	1. Chapter 1

Evan was nervous.

It wasn’t a new feeling but it was worse than usual. Beside him Jared was buzzing with excitement. Actually buzzing. Evan had to shift away from him to avoid getting shocked by the currents dancing along his friends skin. 

“Isn’t this exciting? We’re finally here!” 

“Yeah, it’s great.” 

Jared turned to Evan. “You can at least pretend to be excited.” 

“I don’t see why we have to come here.” 

“Because,” Jared reached towards Evan and tugged on the vine wrapped around his arm. “Of this. And this.” Jared pulled away and held up his hand. A web of lightning flashed between his fingers. “We’re freaks, Evan, and this is where the freaks go.” 

Evan frowned and looked back to the school. Affinity’s School of the Arts was where all people “blessed” with quirks on the east coast were sent for high school. Evan knew Jared had been looking forward to it since his technokinesis manifested back in the fourth grade. Evan’s own quirk showed itself mere hours after Jared in an effort to protect the two of them from a group of bullies who discovered Jared’s ability didn’t have an effect on his physical strength. 

“I could have gone through a normal high school just fine.” 

“Evan…” Evan didn’t have to look to know Jared was frowning. In his opinion, Jared worried too much. Evan could take care of himself, he just choose not to sometimes. Jared’s voice got soft in one of his rare moments of showing empathy. “I know you don’t want to be here, but it’s going to be alright. It’s just four years. And just think, by the time we graduate we’ll be able to get into any college in the country, free of charge.” 

That was the only perk of being a freak. The world wanted to thank them for not killing everyone by rewarding them through all aspects of life. Free college tuition, paid internships in field of their choice, a wide range on entry level jobs that paid enough to actually function on their own in society.

“How come we have to stay on campus? Just because other people have doesn’t mean we should, the stupid school is in our town.” 

“I couldn’t tell you. Now, come on.” Jared grabbed Evan’s hand and started pulling him towards the school. He had managed to get his electricity under control, something Evan was grateful for. He really didn’t like the feeling of being shocked. “The rooms aren’t traditional style. Everyone has two roommates. I may have pulled some strings and got us roomed together.” 

Evan gasped. “Jared! That’s illegal. You’re going to get in trouble and they’re going to kick you out and then I’m going to be stuck with two roommates I don’t know.” 

“Relax, Ev. It’s not like that. I merely suggested the system match us together. There was still a large chance we wouldn’t end up with each other. Also, I think Heidi called the school ahead to let them know about your, uh, ya know, thing.” 

“It’s called anxiety.” Evan said uncomfortably. He didn’t know why he had trouble talking to Jared about it. They had been friends practically their whole lives. Jared should have been the one person Evan was completely comfortable with. Or maybe it was because they knew each other so well that Evan had trouble explaining it to Jared. He knew Heidi had given Jared a rundown on how to handle Evan’s panic attacks and potential medication distribution but he wasn’t sure how in depth she had gone.

“Yeah, that! Anyways, school system probably figured it’d be easier to just keep us together.” The door’s were electronic, or had something electronic within them as they opened automatically as they approached. Judging by the kid struggling to open the door on the other side Evan figured Jared had something to do with it. “I already looked at our assignment. We’re in the Reynolds hall, room 384. It didn’t have our roommates full name, just initials. C. L. M. His file is pretty empty right now but it doesn’t say he has a support ability.” 

Evan frowned. “Jared, you shouldn’t be looking into people’s files like that.” 

“Pft, what are they going to do?” Jared stopped pulling Evan to a halt next to him. Evan watched as Jared’s hands moved through the air touching screens only he could see. “Your file isn’t as empty. Evan Benjamin Hansen, born September 24, 1999. Botanokinesis, same ability as father with hints of mother’s organic manipulation. Abilities manifested at age nine, right after yours truly, and has attended control classes ever since. Planned graduation date, May 26, 2017. Lives with mother Heidi Hansen in-“

“Okay, Jared! I get it. You can access files you shouldn’t be able to.”

Jared smiled and resumed on his march through the school once again pulling Evan along. Evan didn’t mind too much, if Jared wasn’t here he would have to navigate the halls on his own. Walking with Jared was nerve wracking enough, Evan couldn’t imagine not having his friend by his side. 

They had to split once they arrived at the counsellor’s office. Students were divided based on ability type, Evan was meeting with the offensive counselor whole Jared was meeting with the defensive. It didn’t make sense to Evan. Even with their quirks claiming otherwise, Jared was the one who’d fight back in a situation while Evan would look for an escape. 

“Meet me back here once you get out. I scanned the records and most of the offensive have already checked in, your wait should be shorter than mine.” Jared must have noticed the expression on Evan’s face. “Oh! Here, take this.” Jared handed Evan his phone and headphones. “My calm the fuck down playlist is under music if you need to listen to something, if not you can play games or text your mom.”

“Thank you, Jared.”

“Don’t mention it, dude. No, really, don’t mention it. I’ve got a reputation to keep up.” There was the Jared that Evan knew and loved. “I’ll try and get back as soon as I can.” 

Jared gave him one last smile before going down the hall towards his counselor. Evan took a deep breath before daring to walk towards his. The hallway was long and seemed to go on forever. There was no one waiting outside but Evan still knocked and waited for a confirmation before going in. 

“Um, hi? My name is Evan Hansen, I’m here for my room assignment?” 

The counselor, Mr. Platt if his name plate was anything to go by, perked up when Evan came in. “Oh, yes! Hello Evan, take a seat anywhere there’s space.” Mr. Platt started to frantically pick up papers. “Apologies for the mess, beginning a new year is always a disaster. Let me just find your assignment.” Mr. Platt swiped his hand through the air. Evan watched transfixed as his hand came in contact with a file. Dimensional storage a voice that sounded suspiciously like Jared said in the back of his mind. “Aha! Here it is. Evan Hansen, botanokinesis with a hint of organic manipulation. That’s a rather impressive ability you’ve got there. Any relation to William Hansen?” 

“Uh, he’s my um, my dad? He is, I don’t know why I said it like a question. That’s a lie. I do know why. I’m sorry.” 

“No need to be sorry here. He’s not named in the file, I’m assuming out of the picture?” Evan nodded. “Makes paperwork easier, less signatures. Here,” Mr. Platt handed Evan a stack of papers he hadn’t seen him grab. “Are all of the required forms as well as your room assignment and schedule draft. The forms can be sent home to be signed or, if you go home for a weekend, can be signed then, we just require that they be returned by the end of the month. The room assignment is pretty self explanatory. You’ve got Jared Kleinman, who as I understand you’re already familiar with, and Connor Murphy. If you have any problems with either of them you can discuss a transfer. The schedule is a draft because classes change. You can add or drop based on what you feel like taking, we’re not very picky until next year. You’ll get the opportunity to this weekend and all of next week to make your decisions. Any questions?” 

Evan blinked at all of the sudden information. “Uh, no. No questions. Thank you.” Evan stood from the seat he had barely sat down in before Mr. Platt has started explaining everything. He wished, not for the first time that day, that he had kept his backpack rather than having it sent on to the room with the rest of his stuff. It’d be easier than having to carrying around the stack of papers because then he could put them in the bag and not have to worry about setting them down somewhere and then accidentally forgetting them when he got up to leave. 

He didn’t waste any time leaving the room. Evan scurried back down the hall to the main entrance where Jared had told him to wait. Jared still wasn’t there but a small group of people had arrived and were currently standing in the middle of the room talking. Evan wordlessly made his way to the chairs against the back wall and sunk down in them. He was gripping the papers in his hand, eyes never leaving the small group. They didn’t look like they were going to do anything to threaten him but that didn’t stop the fear of what if. The vines on his arm curled tighter around him, thorns erupting from the sides. He stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out Jared’s phone. The calm the fuck down playlist seemed nice right about now. He stuck the earbuds in and scrolled through the playlist until he settled on Clair de Lune. He was able to shut his eyes and pretend he wasn’t currently trying to keep from panicking at the loud group gossiping in the center. They weren’t talking about him, they probably didn’t even notice him. No one ever noticed Evan Hansen. 

Evan didn’t know how much time had passed before Jared had come back out. At least enough for Clair de Lune to end and Winter Winds to begin. During the time he spent waiting he read through the papers Mr. Platt has given him. Most of the forms were insurance and liability. There was an emergency contact sheet which he had begun filling out labeling Heidi, Mrs. Kleinman, and Jared as the three to contact in case something were to happen. The room assignment had a bit more information on the mysterious other roommate such as the fact that his specific quirk had to do with healing. The assignment sheet also mentioned immediate family with quirks. Jared’s mentioned his mom and younger brother, and Connor’s mentioned a younger sister. Evan’s had his mom, the spot meant for his dad had been redacted. 

The music‘s volume lowered. Evan looked up to see Jared walking over with a girl trailing behind him. “Evan! My man, my dude.” 

“Hi, Jared.” Evan said pulling the earbuds out. He glanced to the group who was down to just two people. The girl who had been following Jared stopped a few feet behind him. 

“Evan, I want you to meet our new friend.”

“Our friend?”

“Yep! This is Alana Beck.” Jared motioned to the girl. She gave a small, nervous smile and wave. “She’s got this pretty cool quirk, mental projection.” 

“It’s not as interesting as technopathy, but it works.” Alana said stepping up to stand next to Jared.

“You flatter me, Beck. No need to suck up, I’ll change your grades for free.” 

Alana frowned. “You can’t go around changing grades, students must work hard to get A’s. They’re not something that can be given out at will.” 

“It’ll be fine, I haven’t gotten caught yet.” 

“If you’re changing grades then I will have no choice but to report you. Good grades come from a healthy mix of studying, practicing, and applying the skills learned to real world situations.” 

Evan could already tell he was going to like Alana. She seemed cheerful but stern with her beliefs. That was the kind of influence Jared needed And Evan, but Jared needed it more. 

“Alright alright, fine. I’ll try to avoid changing grades, but no promises. Sometimes it just happens.” Alana frowned but didn’t say anything else. Jared took Evan’s arm, careful of the thorns still decorating the vines, and started leading him out of the building. “Come by our room later, Lana! I can access any movie you want, even if it’s not out yet. We can have a movie night.” 

“She seems nice.” Evan said once they were a good distance away. 

“Yeah, she made waiting more bearable. I had someone to talk to rather than just messing around on the web. Speaking of which, I did that as well, did you know mental projection is a rare quirk? There are only one hundred and sixty three documented cases in the past year. Alana is the only student attending here that has the ability.” 

“That’s nice.” 

“I’ve also started looking into our roommate, Connor. He’s from Danville, Virginia. His healing ability isn’t tied down to a single talent. There’s this video online, had to do a lot of digging to find it - it was under lock in key from like six different places-, of this guy calling upon the stars, like actual stars, to heal his little sister. Apparently something happened to her when they were younger. Anyways there’s also video evidence that he can take injuries away from others and apply them to himself, how cool is that?” 

Evan frowned at Jared. “Jared, you shouldn’t go looking into people’s lives like that. And stop hacking into government servers, last time you did that they questioned me and my mom.” 

“True, but they never caught me.” Evan hated when Jared was right. 

\---

Jared didn’t stop talking the whole walk to the dorm. He kept spouting random facts about different students who would be on their floor. During that time Evan learned that Jeremy saw someone who essentially acted as a sixth sense, Richard had pyrokinesis and Veronica had a form of compulsion. It was nice knowing who he was going to be spending the next four years with but Evan could have gone without Jared’s stalking. There were better ways to meet people than remotely accessing their whole lives without their consent. 

The walk didn’t take nearly as long as Evan hoped it would. With Jared’s constant talking he hadn’t had a chance to properly psych himself up for meeting this new roommate. From what Jared had said Connor seemed nice. He had a younger sister he cared about, especially using his ability without reservations. Evan wished he had that kind of confidence. The only reason anyone knew about Evan’s status as someone with a quirk was the plants constantly surrounding him from the vines on his arms to the flowers in his hair. Jared’s was a bit more subtle. He had a tattoo-like motherboard on his chest that he was easily able to cover up. 

Jared let go of his arm before they walk in. Evan was torn between being grateful and wanting Jared’s touch to ground him. Evan stuck behind Jared as they moved through the halls. It seemed like most students had already moved in, including their roommate. Evan was worried about meeting Connor. He was always worried about meeting new people, but he was going to be spending the next year living with Connor. What if Connor didn’t like his plants? What if Connor and Jared got into a fight and expected Evan to pick a side? What if Evan got into a fight with Jared and Connor picked Jared’s side? Then Evan would be left alone with two roommates that hated him and talked behind his back. 

“Ev, you’re panicking. All of your plants are dying.” 

Evan looked down at his arms. The vines were in fact withering. He frowned and tried to force the negative thoughts from his mind. His worry was killing the plants that trusted him. 

“Sorry.” Evan whispered. The vine looked less on the brink of death but it was still wilted. 

“Are they talking to you?” Jared had always been interested in Evan’s ability to communicate with his plants. It wasn’t talking like Jared always referred to it as but more of an emotional connection. Only a few plants trusted him with this connection. 

“No, not right now. I think they’re too weak.” Evan explained. Jared seemed to understand or wasn’t interested enough to ask anymore questions. 

They stopped in front a door labeled 384. Jared tried to give Evan a reassuring smile but really it just made Evan more nervous. He already didn’t like this room, it was on the third floor and Evan was much more comfortable on the first. Jared pulled his key from his pocket, making Evan panic because was Evan given a key? He didn’t remember being handed a key. Was it with the papers? Oh god, where were the papers. Jared seemed to sense his panic and pulled a second key, as well as Evan’s papers, from his pocket. Jared turned the key and pushed the door open. 

The room was dark and music, Debussy was playing. Jared turned on the light as he walked in. Evan hung back, ready to run from the room should this meeting go sour. 

“The fuck.” 

Connor, Evan assumed, was sitting crossed legged on the bottom bunk of the beds. Evan wondered why he didn’t claim the single bed if he had gotten here first but didn’t want to ask questions. He was wearing all black and had a scary aura. The vines clung tighter to Evan. He hoped his mom had packed the pot and soil, Evan loved his vines but he didn’t think he’d be able to handle them 24/7. 

“Hi, you must be Connor.” The volume lowered and Evan doubted Connor had done it. “I’m Jared, hiding by the door is Evan. We’re your roommates.” 

“Yeah, no, I got that.” Evan stepped into the room. Connor was frowning, looking between him and Jared. “Going by the fact that he’s covered in plants I’m assuming you’re the one who’s fucking with my music.” 

“I wouldn’t call it that, I’m simply making it a reasonable volume so we can get to know each other better.” 

“And what if I don’t want to get to know you?” 

“Well, sucks dude. You’re stuck with us for the next four years, unless you transfer. I would say we’d transfer but it’s highly unlikely I’d be able to get into the school’s servers twice without getting caught.” 

Evan was expecting Connor to snap at Jared. Most people did when he started talking. Jared just had a way of annoying everyone he came in contact with. Connor didn’t look annoyed, or angry, or even slightly upset, he just looked amused. And was staring at Evan. 

Oh god. Why is he staring at me? 

Evan thought back to everything he had done prior to walking into the room. He woke up, got dressed, brushed his teeth and hair, and said goodbye to his mom after she dropped him off at the Kleinman’s. Jared hadn’t said anything bad about his appearance, Evan had even double checked himself before leaving with Jared’s family for the school. 

Jared’s voice broke thought Evan’s panic though it didn’t do much to alleviate it. “Evan, you’ve got flowers in your hair again.”

Evan blushed and started pulling the flowers from his hair. There weren’t many but it was enough to make Connor notice. Connor definitely thought Evan was weird. He was going to   
hate Evan and want to move out or make Evan move out. 

“Flowers, that’s pretty cool. My sister likes flowers, says she needs something to brighten up her life. Apparently being constantly surrounding by shadows makes everything rather dull.” 

“Does your sister have umbrakinesis?” Evan shocked himself with the question. It looked like he shocked Jared, who likely expected Evan not to say anything for the first few weeks, as well. Connor didn’t seem phased by the question but he didn’t know Evan. 

“Yup. She hates it. Wishes she had fire manipulation or nothing at all.” 

“Any reason she wants fire manipulation?” Jared had opened his bags, which were sitting on the single bed, to start unpacking. Evan’s were on the top bunk. He didn’t know if Connor had randomly assigned them beds or if the school had. 

“That’s our mom’s quirk. The last person in our family to have umbrakinesis was a couple generations ago. Before Zoe came along it was thought to have left for good.” 

Evan hesitantly pulled one of his bags from the bed. He opened it and pulled out his flower pots. The vines unwrapped themselves from his arms with a bit of persuasion and curled up in the pot. Evan would have to get Jared to help him hang it from somewhere later. 

“Cool. Which dresser have you claimed?” 

Evan put the flowers in a smaller pot. Sometimes they would survive and grow into an actual plant and not just the blossom. 

“One in the middle.” 

He pulled down his suitcase next. Jared was in the closet right now but Evan wanted to be ready for when he came out. His bookbag, complete with his laptop, school supplies, and the few books he had chosen to bring was the last to come down. 

Evan decided that living with Jared and Connor’s friendly banter was something he could get used to.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> classes start.

First days were horrible. 

Evan and Jared had spent the weekend exploring campus and making the first of many changes to their schedules, including switching their gym period so it matched Connor’s. Connor hadn’t seemed interested in exploring the campus with them claiming that “getting lost is part of the freshman experience”, something that Jared had agreed on but Evan couldn’t handle the thought of getting lost and having to ask someone for help because he didn’t know where his classroom was. Jared tagged along claiming that “Evan would get himself killed without me” but Evan had a feeling Jared wasn’t too keen on getting lost either.

Connor had woken up first. He was already dressed and reading on his phone when Evan finally managed to pull himself off of the bunk. Connor smiled and waved when Evan tripped and fell to the floor, something that woke Jared up. 

“Ugh, it’s too early. I’m not doing this. Evan can you cover for me. I’m sick. I broke my leg. I was kidnapped by one of your trees. The excuse doesn’t matter.” 

“Trees don’t kidnap people, Jared,” Evan muttered going over to the closet. He rummaged through his dresser for something to wear. He wanted to make a good impression on everyone today but sweatpants and a t-shirt were tempting. Evan settled on a pair of jeans Jared had bought him before he left (“You can’t wear khakis every day, if you do then I’m frying your laptop”) and a blue polo his mom had gotten him the year before. He took his clothes, along with his toothbrush and toothpaste, to the bathroom to get ready. 

By the time Evan had exited, dressed and looking slightly more awake, Jared had quite literally rolled out of bed and was currently playing games on his phone. Connor was still reading seemingly uninterested in the day ahead of them. Evan wished he could be like that. Maybe then the Christmas Roses would stop growing in his hair. Speaking of which, he pulled another bunch off his head and set them down in the pot with the others. They were starting to take root and, if Evan was lucky, would grow on their own without the need for much upkeep. 

Evan frowned and nudged Jared with his foot. “Jared, you need to get up. You can’t miss the first day.” Connor snorted. Evan gave him a confused look.

“My Mom texted me the same thing when I told her I was skipping today.”

Jared cheered in agreement while Evan gasped. “You can’t skip! That leaves a bad impression on your teachers and other students. Imagine how Alana would feel if you skipped.” 

“Why should I care how she feels?” Connor asked with a shrug. He had gone back to reading. Evan sighed and decided to work on one of them at a time.

“Jared, come on. If you skip then they’ll call your mom and she’ll call my mom because she’ll want to know if I skipped and then my mom will call me because she’ll want to be sure I didn’t skip and I don’t think I can handle that on the first day. Please go to class?” 

“Damn, Evan. Pulling the please card already. You’re truly heartless this year.” Evan gave Jared his best sad look. Jared always said he should trademark it, he could make himself look like a kicked puppy and the plants surrounding him apparently didn’t help. “Well fuck, Evan. I see how it is. I’ll get ready if it’ll make you stop.”

Jared left the room leaving Connor and Evan in silence. It wasn’t the first time they had been left alone. The first night Jared had snuck out of the dorm past curfew to explore the computer labs. He failed in convincing Evan and Connor to join him leaving the two to have the room to themselves. It wasn’t awkward but it wasn’t not awkward. Neither knew what to say and they sat quietly until Jared returned half past two in the morning. Since then they had a few more chances of conversation but never took them unless Jared was there to ignite it. 

“How’d you get him up so fast? He seemed dead set on skipping when you were getting ready.” 

Which is why he had no idea how to respond when Connor started talking to him that morning.

“Huh? Oh, I uh, I have this thing where he feels bad for me and usually does what I ask.” 

Connor seemed interested. “What, do you like guilt him or something?”

“No, at least I don’t think so? Jared always says I look like a puppy and sometimes I look like a kicked puppy surrounded by flowers. Apparently, that’s enough to make him listen, thankfully or we’d been in trouble last year.” 

“What happened last year?”

“A story we try to forget. Hey Ev, can I borrow your green jacket?” Evan nodded and Jared grabbed the jacket from the closet. “So Connie, you coming to class or is that not your style?”

“This whole school isn’t my style, but I’m stuck here so I might as well go to class, at least until the teachers figure out I’m a lost cause.” 

“That’s,” Jared looked at Evan who frowned. “Depressing.” 

“Well, as you’ll come to learn, I’m a pretty depressing person.” 

“Damn, so I got stuck with two depressing people.”

“Didn’t you choose to room with Evan?”

Evan decided to change the subject before they could start debating. “What’s your first class?” 

Connor didn’t bother pulling out his schedule. Evan had seen him studying it the past few days. He might not know where his classes were but he at least had the room numbers, times, and teachers memorized. Evan had his schedule in his pocket. The night before, with Jared’s help, he had color-coded everything. 

“Introduction to Shakespeare.” Jared made a face. Connor glared at him. “I might be forced to come here, but that doesn’t mean I can’t get my general education classes done. You’ll have to take it eventually.” 

“Isn’t that a class meant for seniors?” 

“You’re in senior biology, Hansen.” 

“Oh, right.” Evan shrunk back and started going through his book bag to make sure he had everything. He had already triple checked, but a fourth time never hurt anybody. 

“Fuck. Right, that sounded mean. I’m sorry.” 

“It’s fine,” Evan replied counting his notebooks.

“Not really. This is what I’m trying to work on. The whole talking without sounding like a dick.” 

“Got a long way to go there, buddy.” Jared’s comment wasn’t helping defuse the situation. Whatever the situation was. There might not have been a situation, but Evan felt like there was. That wasn't saying much. Evan always felt like there was a situation. 

“You know, Jared, you should try it sometime. People might actually enjoy talking to you.” 

“Ouch, I’m wounded. I thought we had something special.” 

Evan smiled as he put his notebooks back in the bag. He was debating on taking his laptop. He doubted the teachers would let him use it during class but what if he needed it? It was better to be safe than sorry. He slid the laptop in the bag and then went about watering the vines and flowers. Jared and Connor had helped Evan hang the vines so they were dangling down towards the ground rather than piling up on his dresser. 

“Hey Ev, what’s your first class?” 

“Biology.”

Jared walked over and threw an arm on Evan’s shoulder. Evan flinched and Jared pulled back. “You’re not very talkative this morning. You nervous?” Evan shrugged and went back to tending his plants. Jared dramatically sighed and handed Evan his bag. 

Evan tried not to take the sigh personally. It was just one of the ways Jared expressed himself. 

“Of course he’s nervous, it’s the first day at a new fucking school built for freaks like us.” 

“Harsh. I prefer the term gifted over freak.”

“Don’t we all? None of us want to admit it, but that’s what we are. The freaks ostracized from society. The only difference between this place and a normal high school is here, they have rooms to cancel out our abilities. They can control us here.” 

“Not really helping with the whole Evan being nervous situation,” Jared said as he pulled a few stray flowers from Evan’s hair. 

Evan thanked Jared and left the room before he could hear Connor’s response. He didn’t go far. Jared was supposed to walk with Evan to his first class. He didn’t want Jared to change his mind because Evan decided to leave the floor. 

Jared and Connor came out of the room together. They still seemed to be in the middle of their debate on “gifted versus freaks”. Evan hated to admit it, but they both had valid arguments.  
“If we were gifted like you said, why would they force us to attend high schools meant for people like us? It doesn’t make sense unless they’re trying to control.” 

“These schools let us get a better handle on our abilities. The control factor, as you’ve so lovingly deemed it, is less about control and more about keeping track of people. There’s no malice behind it, they just want to be sure everyone is accounted for. The amount of incarcerated people with quirks is half of those without. If what you’re preaching is true then the numbers would be different. In the last year over three-thousand people involved in petty, quirk-related crimes were released following legislation which loosened the sentences.” 

Evan noticed Jared wasn’t there, not completely. His mind was wherever it went when he was researching. Evan had known Jared since they were kids. He knew Jared wouldn’t be coming out of it until his point was proven. He took hold of Jared’s arm and started leading him through the hall. Connor followed along. He didn’t seem interested in what Jared was saying. He looked more amused at Evan trying to navigate the hall without letting Jared run into anyone. 

“Does he always get like this?” 

“Sometimes. Usually when he’s trying to uh, to prove a point.” 

“Right. So what I’ve learned is not to argue with Jared.” 

“Yeah, that sounds about right.” 

Connor was the first one to split from the group. “Kill me.” He said before leaving the two of them for his Shakespeare class. Evan hoped the class wasn’t as bad as Connor was making it out to be. He didn’t have plans on taking it himself but he didn’t want to see Connor stressed. Stress isn't good for anyone and he had a feeling it would be even worse for Connor.”

“That was a bit much,” Jared said, finally coming down from his information spill.

“He’s being expressive, Jared.” 

“Sure. We’ll see if he’s still being expressive when he kills us over a bad paper grade.” 

“Connor won’t…” Evan didn’t actually know Connor. They had their few conversations over the weekend and Evan listened to Connor and Jared talk but he didn’t know anything about the other teen. “Connor won’t do that.” 

“You sure?” 

“He’s a healer, right? I don’t think he’ll hurt us.” 

“Not all healers are saints, Evan. Don’t forget that. Anyways, have fun in biology. I’ll see you later.” Jared saluted Evan and walked into his technology history class. 

Evan really didn’t want to go to biology. He didn’t want to skip because then he would be a hypocrite, especially since Connor had gone to his first class. He was just worried about walking in and everyone staring at him because it was technically a senior class and he was a freshman. He was probably going to be the only freshman. Evan took a deep breath and walked in. No one noticed or if they did they didn’t care. Evan walked to the back and sat next to the window. It gave him a nice view of the courtyard outside. The plants were already responding to him so it wasn’t completely bad.

The bell rang and the teacher started writing on the board. Evan took another deep breath. It was just another class. 

\---

Connor was bored. 

He really had been planning on skipping until Evan started talking this morning. He was still planning on skipping when he walked into the English building but another text from his mom kept him going to class. It was a picture of Zoe. She was sleeping on the couch wrapped up in the blanket from Connor’s room. Connor would much rather be at home than here. He didn’t always see eye to eye with his family but they were a constant. It was really just a matter of time before Evan and Jared realized they didn’t want to room with Connor. That they would be better off without him in their lives.

He spent most of the class on Twitter. A few students, mainly Alana, were staring at him. It didn’t surprise him that Alana was taking the class. She had spent most of the time they were together that weekend talking about the honors classes she had taken back home. 

“You know, you really shouldn’t be on your phone during class.”

“Shouldn’t you be at your desk?”

“The bell rang. It’s time for class change. Which for freshmen like us means going to the gym for placement. I was reading up on the school’s history, did you know that Affinity has the longest running placement program?” Connor shoved everything into his bag. Alana followed him out of the classroom. “It’s the only one that hasn’t been altered due to an accident.” 

“Maybe this will be the year that changes.” 

“Probably not. Affinity has many different safety protocols to avoid situations that other institutions, such as Hassler, have faced over the years.”

Connor didn’t have anything against Alana. He actually thought she was really nice, but he wished she’d slow down. Maybe talk a little less. Actually understanding her would be nice.

“Any idea where the gym is?” Connor asked, interrupting Alana’s stream of facts. She reminded him of Jared, except she didn’t find things at the moment. She actually knew what she was talking about. 

“Oh! Yes, I mapped out the fastest way these from every wing in the building. Follow me.” 

She took off. Connor had to do an awkward half-jog to keep up with her. In moments like this, he wished he had a more useful quirk. Maybe something that would actually do him good in life. 

“Are we going to be meeting up with Evan and Jared?”

“I mean, I guess we can.” 

“Perfect! I’ll find out where they are." 

Alana’s eyes lit up. Connor hadn’t seen her use her quirk yet. It was pretty cool. He guessed the bright blue glow was off-putting as people were quickly stepping out of their path. 

“ I’ve frightened Jared. He’s currently trying to coax Evan from the courtyard. Something happened during his first class that set off his ability.”

Connor froze.

Something happened? 

He knew Evan was anxious. Anyone who spent thirty seconds around Evan could tell he was anxious. But it left Connor wondering what could have happened in the hour since he’s departed. Could Evan be hurt? Connor wanted to believe the school wouldn’t let someone be injured on the first day but he wasn’t sure. Maybe he was right and the school really didn’t care about them. It wouldn’t be surprising. 

_Okay. Calm down, Connor. It’s probably nothing. You’re going to freak out for no reason and the stars are going to fall out of the fucking sky again._

“What’s the quickest route to the courtyard?” 

“Through 400, why?” 

Connor started running. He had a general idea of where 400 was from Evan’s and Jared’s countless conversations about the layout of the school over the weekend. He could hear Alana’s footsteps as she ran after him. He tried not to focus on that. If he focused on Alana then he would get distracted. Right now all that mattered was Evan and if he was going to help Evan he needed to keep himself focused on finding him. Letting his thoughts wander would cause him to use excess energy, something he would need if Evan was hurt. 

Finding the courtyard was easy once he got through 400 because it was covered in green, something Connor was certain hadn’t been there this morning. There were school officials on all sides and Jared was in the middle unaffected by the vines holding him in place. Connor didn’t see Evan, and that was probably the worst part. 

 

“Oh my god,” Alana said, coming to stand beside him. “Now what?”

“Why are you asking me?” 

“You’re the one who came here. Do you have a plan?” 

Connor smiled. “Not at all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i promise i know where im going with this 
> 
> join me and kilala2tail in protecting your faves https://discord.gg/Pwah8sR

**Author's Note:**

> today on I have no self control, I upload my alternate high school superpowers fic while in-between edits on retro ad and completely ignoring my other series whoops


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